Hani rings

ABSTRACT

Hani rings are the first type of rings designed and sized to be fit to be worn at different places on the finger—between the first knuckle and below the nail, between the second knuckle and the first knuckle, or below the second knuckle to the regular traditional position of the ring, the bottom of the finger. Close detail has been paid to each of the rings&#39; weight, thickness, width, and shape for extreme comfort to enable this innovative, new, original way of wearing rings and expressing oneself comfortably, fashionably, and in a practical manner. Various ring designs and sizes, and different positioning, can be mixed and matched to make one&#39;s own style different each day.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

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STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

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REFERENCE TO SEQUENCE LISTING, A TABLE, OR A COMPUTER PROGRAM LISTING COMPACT DISK APPENDIX

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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of Invention

The Hani rings invention revolutionizes the jewelry and fashion field and the definition of “ring”, i.e. some kind of material used to adorn the finger. Specifically, this invention breaks away from and challenges the traditional definition of “ring” for adorning the finger and broadens the lines of creativity and fashion by enabling the adornment of various positions on the finger, not just the bottom of the finger that joins the palm of the hand.

2. Description of Prior Art

The traditional ring consists of some kind of circular material, perhaps with stone(s) fastened to it, designed/thus marketed to be worn solely at the bottom of one's finger where it joins the palm of the hand, as it is what is currently accepted and understood to be where the ring goes on the finger. The combination of the weight, thickness, width, and shape of the current ring designs makes it extremely uncomfortable and impractical to wear at any other position but the bottom of one's finger. Besides the obvious issue of the sizes available being too large to allow wearing the ring at any other position besides the bottom of the finger (such as below the nail to the first knuckle or between the first and second knuckles), the design itself does not allow such flexibility of positioning because of the combination of the qualities noted—such as the ring weighing too much, being too thick, and/or too wide. This is especially true for the position below the nail to the first knuckle, as making one's finger top-heavy is extremely uncomfortable, bothersome, and irritating; and, moreover, the conventional finger ring width and thickness do not allow it to fit within that position of below the nail to the first knuckle without either covering the nail or the first knuckle, or hitting the first knuckle when bending the finger because of the thickness of the ring, and thus causing extreme discomfort and/or restricting the bending of the knuckles/finger.

There are past finger/fingernail rings that have been designed to be worn below the first knuckle extending to the nail as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,899,557 issued to Marcus Schwartz in 1990 for “Stable fingernail ring”. As Schwartz describes in his documents, the objective of the stable fingernail ring is adornment of the fingernail not finger, as the ring consists of a circular supporting section (to be worn between the first knuckle and the second knuckle, preferably right below the first knuckle) with the decorative section attached and protruding from this base and extending to/covering the fingernail. In this design, the circular material serves to provide solely a base for the decorative extension part intended for the fingernail. Such a design can be undesirable because of the shape/form and a habitual desire to adorn the finger not fingernail which can be adorned with nail polish. Such extensions from the ring to the fingernail can also chip and damage nail polish. The form itself, as depicted through the description and drawings can be extremely inhibiting and impractical as it would be expected that with the material used that extends past the first knuckle, one would not be able to bend that part of the finger. Thus, form and design do not complement function and practicality. Schwartz's invention is a modification of the invention with French Patent Number 1,310,161 issued in 1961 to Leostic et al., which also has the objective of adorning the fingernail, not the finger. Schwartz also discloses other patents where the invention is used to protect the front of the finger and the nail while the finger is being used for some purpose, thus serving a protective function not ornamental: 1) U.S. Pat. No. 888,976 issued to Duperault in 1908 for “Thumb or Finger Attachment”, 2) U.S. Pat. No. 203,978 issued to Woods in 1878 for “Tobacco Germer”, 3) U.S. Pat. No. 336,974 issued to Withrow in 1886 for “Corn Husker”, 4) U.S. Pat. No. 3,728,736 issued to Pugh in 1973 for “Thumb or Finger Guard”, 5) U.S. Pat. No. 2,740,121 issued to Seidel in 1956 for “Finger Cot”, 6) U.S. Pat. No. 2,591,092 issued to Okomski in 1952 for “Fingernail Guard”, 7) U.S. Pat. No. 2,546,619 issued to Turner in 1951 for “Fingernail Guard”, 8) U.S. Pat. No. 2,487,101 issued to Colby et al in 1949 for “Fingernail Protector”, 9) U.S. Pat. No. 2,458,709 issued to Kayer in 1949 for “Fingernail Guard”, 10) U.S. Pat. No. 2,441,947 issued to Welch in 1948 for “Bobby Pin Opener”, 11) U.S. Pat. No. 2,323,854 issued to Silverman in 1943 for “Finger Nail Guard”, 12) U.S. Pat. No. 1,516,385 issued to Keck in 1924 for “Thumb Shield”, 13) U.S. Pat. No. 1,439,811 issued to Givens in 1922 for “Finger Ring For Handling Paper Sheets”.

U.S. Pat. No. 1,018,875 issued to Cardon in 1912 for “Finger Ring Construction” discloses a finger ring consisting of a single band to be worn at the bottom of the finger, with a support/base on which jewels are mounted extending from the band, continuing to the tops of the second and third sections of the finger. Thus, this design does not support flexibility in wearing the ring on various positions of the finger either.

In summary, there is no prior ornamental finger ring which is designed to be worn at various positions on the finger, i.e. between the first knuckle and below the nail, between the second knuckle and the first knuckle, or below the second knuckle to the bottom of the finger, for the adornment of the finger. Schwartz's or Leostic et al's rings were designed to fit solely right below the first knuckle with extensions continuing to the fingernail for adornment of the fingernail only; other rings cited were designed for protection of the front of the finger and the fingernail and not for adornment at all; and, while Cardon's ring was designed with extensions from the ring band continuing onto the tops of the second and third sections of the finger in order to create a base on which to mount jewels, the base of the ring was solely to be worn at the bottom of the finger as in the traditional rings. Considering the lack of flexibility in one's choices for positioning the ring on the finger that is evident in previous ring designs, not to mention the possible irritation resulting from rings extending to the fingernail, and the inevitable discomfort and impracticality resulting from an unknown, unprecedented attempt to actually adapt a conventional ring into an anywhere-on-the-finger ring without any design changes, Hani rings will provide a much needed broadening of the lines of creativity and fashion by revolutionizing the definition of “ring” and enabling the adornment of various positions on the finger and expressing oneself comfortably, fashionably, and in a practical manner.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Hani rings are the first type of rings designed and sized to be fit to be worn at different places on the finger—between the first knuckle and below the nail, between the second knuckle and the first knuckle, or below the second knuckle to the regular traditional position of the ring, the bottom of the finger. Close detail has been paid to each of the rings' weight, thickness, width, and shape for extreme comfort, to enable this innovative, new, original way of wearing rings and expressing oneself comfortably, fashionably, and in a practical manner. Various ring designs and sizes, and different positioning, can be mixed and matched to make one's own style different each day.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING

Not Applicable

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Hani rings have been designed to be worn at various places on the finger (i.e. between the first knuckle and below the nail, between the second knuckle and the first knuckle, or below the second knuckle to the regular traditional position of the ring, the bottom of the finger) unlike the regular traditional rings on the market now. Thus, the combination of the rings' weight, thickness, width, shape and size are in proportion to one another in such a manner to enable wearing them in these new positions on the finger comfortably, fashionably, and in a practical manner. To insure the greatest comfort, the rings are designed/manufactured to have the lowest weight possible with respect to the design and without sacrificing quality. Also, comparatively, to enable especially the practicality of wearing the rings between the first knuckle and below the nail, the ring designs include those with considerably less width and less thickness. 

1. What we claim as our invention is jewelry/ornamental objects/or any material designed/developed to be worn at various positions on the finger or any other position besides solely the traditional position of the bottom of the finger with or without extensions that cover just the tops of the second and third sections of the finger and besides those designed to be worn right under the first knuckle with extensions to the fingernail for the sole purpose of adorning the fingernail (the term “ring” has been used here loosely to define such material but untraditional forms/materials are included). 